Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/831

NAME MONETTE 809 MONETTE of quarantine, and that to Dr. Monette is due the credit of originating this method of restricting the disease. This successful result increased the demand for articles from his pen dealing with the subject of yellow fever. In the winter of 1842-43 he contributed a series of papers on this subject to the Western Journal of Medi- cine and Surgery, published at Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Monette's other contributions to the science of medicine are numerous and inter- esting. The Western Medical Journal of June, 1827; refers to his use of oil of turpentine as an external irritant, particularly in the treat- ment of typhus fever, in language that would lead the reader to suppose that he was a pioneer in the use of this now familiar remedy. His other contributions to medical reviews are too numerous and technical to be given in detail. Dr. Monette's earlier literary efforts out- side the field of professional contributions seem to have been directed principally to the subject of natural history. As early as 1824 he prepared a carefully written essay of 20! manuscript pages on the "Causes of the Variety of the Complexion and the Form of the Human Species." In this essay he at- tempts to show the primitive unity of the human race and to prove that racial differ- ences can be accounted for by the influence of environmental conditions. It is clear that many principles published by Darwin in 1869, in the widely recognized literary prize of the last century, "The Origin of Species," were stated by Dr. Monette in a hypothetical way thirty-five years earlier. One of these writers based his conclusions on deductive and the other on inductive reason- ing. Another paper belonging to the early period of Dr. Monette's literary activity bears the title "Essay on the Iitiprobability of Spon- taneous Production of Animals and Plants." This contribution was probably never pub- ^ lished and is decidedly interesting even at this time. The results of his diligent efforts are pathetic. He seemed to be completely en- amored of science, but his ideals were so exalted he could not give his consent to pub- lish many of the treatises that he prepared with the greatest care from time to time. The only evidence that remains of his persistent efforts to penetrate the secret of nature is the large batch of manuscripts, now yellow with age, which are prized by his son as a most precious family heritage. Like his great predecessor, William Dunbar, the pioneer scientist of the Mississippi Valley, his name does not appear in the history of American science, yet his services entitle him to distinc- tion in the state of his adoption. As early as 1833 Dr. Monette entered upon his great literary undertaking — the writing of an elaborate work on the "Geography and History of the Mississippi Valley." The first volume of this work contains a history of the Mississippi Valley prior to the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States. The second volume, entitled "The United States in the Valley of the Mississippi," con- tains the first comprehensive history of the Mississippi Valley as a whole during this period. There were few books of value then available upon the history of the Mississippi Valley which are not referred to in the foot- notes of these volumes. Dr. Monette did not live to finish his work on the physical geography, a treatise he seemed to think would be his most important contribution to knowledge. Judging from his manuscripts, this work was well-nigh com- pleted at the time of his death. Dr. Monette also wrote, from time to time, anonymous articles, humorous or satirical. Among his miscellaneous writings may be men- tioned a poem of 250 lines on "Friendship." It was first written in 1823, and, to use the language of the author, was "Inscribed to Hon. A. Covington, the humane, the generous, and the good." It was rewritten and enlarged for the Natchez Gazette in August, 1825. Among his other poetical efforts are an "Ode to July 4, 1820" and "A Satirical Poem." Among his anonymous writings are a number of articles on "Empiricism." These were di- rected principally against the pretensions and practices of the "steam doctors," the disciples of Samuel Thompson, Samuel Wilcox and Horton Howard. Dr. Monette says that the general tenor of the teachings of all these men is the same, viz., "that all diseases pro- ceed from cold, and are curable by capsicum, lobelia, and steaming." Dr. Monette died in the prime of his life, without reaping the full fruits of his years of unremitting toil. A marble slab in the family burying ground at his old home, "Sweet Auburn." in Washington, Mississippi, bears the simple inscription : SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN WESLEY MONETTE, M. D., BORN APRIL 5, 1803. DIED MARCH 1, 1851. Abridged from an account by Dr. Franklin L. Riley, in the Miss. Hist. Soc. Jour., vol. ix.